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obstructive sleep apnea
is a chronic disease that is often not diagnosed in time with respect to the evidence of symptoms, with possible serious relapses into other diseases such as intermittent hypoxemia, alterations in blood pressure, risks of respiratory and cardiovascular failure, and altered wake-sleep cycles with fatigue and daytime sleepiness.
There is now much strong evidence showing that lack of nighttime sleep, constant awakenings, and poor breathing can expose people to serious risks of accidents and injuries, both on the road and at work.
In Italy, it has been shown by specific studies that a significant percentage of more than 20% of accidents on roads and highways are caused by excessive daytime sleepiness, most often caused by obstructive sleep apnea , and with a social-health expenditure fallout of about one billion euros. It should also be considered how much this type of pathology and its consequences for accidents and injuries are underestimated diagnostically and medically, and also the difficulties at the level of collecting evidence at accident sites, where more accurate investigations would require more time and higher costs to conduct, should be considered.
Not very dissimilar is the situation that can be found when excessive sleepiness, fatigue and insufficient attention caused by the AON can also cause in the working world. Those workers suffering from this condition may make mistakes due to lack of perception or attention, often when operating equipment, or near high-risk industrial facilities.
Those who suffer from drowsiness are more likely to make a mistake due to sleepiness. This suggests how apnea needs to be diagnosed, treated and monitored for proper accident and injury prevention, and how the issue needs to be addressed not only medically but also socially and occupationally.
Sleep deprivation, in addition to altering the quality of life of the person suffering from it, is particularly dangerous on the roads and at work as the deprived person’s perception levels.
The quickness speed of reflexes required for control operations may fail even for a short time, but crucial to one’s own and others’ safety.
Drowsiness, lack of energy, difficulty in thinking and attention can be significant safety risk factors.
If you think of worker figures such as drivers, pilots, air traffic controllers, and doctors, you can understand how necessary it is to be able to operate in full lucidity and mental and physical capacity.
Statistics, already in tracking the risks present in night work compared to day work, have shown how risk levels increase at night, even disregarding the presence of worker-specific illnesses.
In addition to workplace accidents that result in injury or death, a number of other problems can arise in the workplace due to sleep deprivation.
In addition to sleep deprivation and the consequent risks, there are effects such as altered mood, irritability, and anxious reactions, additional disorders that in a work environment do not promote balance and good communication among workers, resulting in poor production outcome and poor quality performance.
